Story Search Results

More Tea Vicar? #12

MORE TEA VICAR?   During the long summer holidays it was easy to get bored.  As there was no public transport from Hoar Cross and no children living nearby, we three children had to make our own entertainment and we were always having adventures and getting up to mischief – a bit like the Famous Five, but without a dog!  We would roam around the village or explore the basement.  My dad was a hoarder and had kept all sorts of stuff over the years including gas masks and field phones from World War 2.  The old Servants Hall was now my dad’s workshop and he spent a lot of time down there restoring antiques to sell.  He had one of the field phones in his...

The Graveyard Shift! #25

...pub, the Meynell Arms.  There was always a good atmosphere here, unlike at home, and the landlord at that time was quite a character.  His idea of fun was to tell everyone there was free beer that night and when we all clamoured to the bar he would throw all the slops over us!  Eventually people got the idea not to wear their good clothes when going for a night out in the Meynell!  Another one of his tricks was to turn the clock back at closing time (11pm in those days) so he could go on serving.  Many a late night was spent there until the Police raided the pub one evening.  The quick thinking landlord switched the power off as the Police groped around i...

The tax man cometh! #29

...the local Meynell Arms to keep our spirits up.  During the summer months there were always a few barn dances to go to and we even put a few on ourselves.  These were usually in a local farmer’s barn with a disco and lots of real ales – they were good fun and always went on until the early hours.  All the land around there was owned by the Duchy of Cornwall estate (Prince Charles’ land) and after one of these barn dances someone set off for home down a dark lane and crashed into a garage next to someone’s house.  The car went straight through the wooden doors at the front and hit the back wall.  As the car came to a halt the whole garage collapsed on...

Moving on - the end of an era #33

...MOVING ON - THE END OF AN ERA:          And so I come to the end of my story.  After ten years of living in a stately home,  my parents’ divorce agreement meant that my dad had to be bought out by my mum and he had to leave his dream home forever.  He and Gavin moved out to live in Burton-on-Trent and my mum carried on running Mediaeval Banquets for a few more years.  She and the singer eventually got together much to my dad’s chagrin.  The singer spent a lot more time at the Hall helping my mum run the banquets; however, Piers didn’t really get on with him.  When he was about 14 years old my dad received a phone call from Piers – he had run...

The Tax Man Cometh! #28

...the local Meynell Arms to keep our spirits up. During the summer months there were always a few barn dances to go to and we even put a few on ourselves. These were usually in a local farmer’s barn with a disco and lots of real ales – they were good fun and always went on until the early hours. All the neighbouring land around Hoar Cross was owned by the Duchy of Cornwall estate (Prince Charles’ land) and after one of these barn dances someone set off for home down a dark lane and crashed into a garage next to someone’s house. The car went straight through the wooden doors at the front and hit the back wall. As the car came to a halt the whole garage coll...

See you in Court #31

...me in the Meynell Arms, the local pub in the village. When we walked in of an evening, everyone was keen to know the latest updates on the divorce and we would spend half an hour telling them all the news – it was like a real life soap opera! On Tuesday nights a bunch of the local businessmen would all meet up for a drink. These men were all middle aged, respectable professionals but on a Tuesday night they turned into a bunch of mad men! We loved it of course, being young and wanting to forget our miserable home life – what better way than a bit of madness? And so, after quite a few drinks, these guys would decide to take sides and have a fight. They piled...